Automatic car-coupling.



l PATENTBD AUG. 4, 190s. A'. GHURGHNR, Jag AN INSANE PERSON. W E. Mwfhunonnn, ooNsnRvA'rmx.

AUTOMATIG GAR COUPLING.;

APPLIoATIoN FILED MAR. 19o7. 4 sHfrIB-TS-SH'BET 1.

v v 4 PATENTED AUG. 4 ANV INSANE PERSON.

E. M. UHUROHEB, UONSERVATRIX, AUTOMATIC GAR COUPLING. y APPLIOATIONIILgn MAR. e, 1907.'

No. 894,814. A

PATENTBD AUG. 4, 1908. y A. HURCHER, JB.,AN'INS,ANE PERSON. E. M; ommomz, oomsmwmaux.'y'A

AUTOMATIC GAR COUPLING.` APPLICATION FILE? MAR.Aa, 19ov.

No. 894,814. PATEN-TBD A1144, 190s, :AL GHURGHELJR., AN. INSANE PERSON. 4

` IE. M. GHURUHBR, OONSERVATRIX;

AUTOMATIU GAB. GO'UPLING'. v APPLIO'AZTION FILED MAB. 8, 19 07.

J f 4 sisma-SHEET 4.

y l' `ml l ,l I y 1 l jl-, Il wmmfmw' f Y rllllllllllmml 40 elevation, showing the position t e lower` part of the coupling pinwill occupy with re UNITED lSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED cnUncHnii, JR., oFLYoNs, ILLINOIS LFRED CHURCH'ER., JR., AN'INS-ANE PERSON.

AUTOMATIC cangeo'ormne.

Specication of Letters Patent.

' Patented Aug. 4, 1908.

Appliecqnalea Maren s, 1907. seria No. 361,414.

To all whom it .mayc'oncerm l Be lit known that. I, ALFRED YCnURoHIiR Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing lat L ons, inthe' county ofCookand State of Il inois, have invented certain new and vuseful Improvements in an Automatic Car-` vide an improvement' inthe o ening in/ the coupler head; andiir the 'm'.ns or the locking f andthe settingV of the.couplihg pin, and Aalso an improvement in' thefastening of the lever to the car'used to raise thepin that unlocksy thecoupler, and, further, an improvement in the fastening o f thedraft rigging tothe draw Various other objects land advantages of the invention will be disclosed'inithe subjoined description and explanation.

Referring tothe accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a front view in elevation of a portion of a scar, showing a coupler embodying the inventionand an Aoperating rod-for the er mounted thereon,"l

couplingpin of the coup and showingtli'e positlon the arts will occupy when the knuckle of t ecoupler is locked. `Fig; 2 is' ajdetached view of the: operating rod, its sup orting brackets and links,` which .connect s a1d3r`od v'to the coupling pin. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical view partly in section' and artly in spect to the knuckle when 'the parts are in position to ermit the cars to be 'detached from one anot er. Fig. 4 is 'a detail' view of the pivot or boltused for securing the'knuckle in place onthe coupler head. Fig. 5 is a top` plany view of the coupler, showing the knuckle and coupling pin in their locked positions,

and illustrating the shank ofthefc'oupler head'broken for the convenience of illustration. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on line f6`6 of Fig. 10 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, and show-y ing a .portion et the operating lever which perspectivecoacts with the knuckle and coupling pin,

; EMMA M.'OIIURCHER CONSERVATRIX OF SAID and the housing for the upper portion-of said lever. Fi 7 is a lon itudinal sectional vieuT partl `in e evation ta en, on line 7-7 of Fig.'

5 loo ling in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken on line 8-`-8 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a detached per- Spective view of the bell-crank or operating lever; ,Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view through the coupler-head and coupling pin,

showing the latter in its lowered position and the position the operating lever will occupy when the knuckle is locked 4by the coupling* pin. Fig. 11 is a detachedA perspective view of the knuckle. Fig. 12 is 'a' horizontal sec-f tional view of the coupler-headand knuckle withthe couplin pin removed, and illustrating the position theknuckle'will occupy when ready forcoupling. 13 is a transverse sectional view through t e erating lever wilg occupy whenthe coupling pin is raised.' Fig. 14 1s alongitudinal vertical sectional view of a portion of the couplercoupler-hea-d andl coupling pin, showing the latter in its raised position and illustrating the position the ophead, showing lthe knuckle and couplingpin `in elevation andv illustrating their positions when readyl for the coupling operation; and Fig. `15 is a detached perspective view of the lcoupling pin.. 4

. .Corresponding letters of reference, refer tol like arts throughout the dierent views of the dlawin'gs. y y

The reference letter L designates the coupler-head, which is hollow and has a hollow shank L1, the upper and lower surfaces of which are eachprovided with a countersunk groove Z to receive 4extensions Z1 on the bar Z2` of the ldraft rigging, which may be supported 4on the bottom of the car,.`in the ordinary or any well known way, but usually sprin pressed. The front end oi the coupler-hea L is rovided near one of its walls with forwardly and horizontally extended projections m, which are spaced apart/as is clearly f shown in Fig. 7, and have located between them the rearwardly extending armor portion .B1 of the knuckle B2, whichis provlded near its juncture with the, arm Blwith a'vertical opening b to receive the pivot pin or bolt K1, which is passed through suitable openings` inthe lprojections m to secure the knuck in position there etween.

The bolt or pin K1 is provided in its lowerportion with a diagonally disposed opening ivotally ent that when the lower end of the bolt K1 is inserted in the openings therefor, the pin K will be pushed up- `in the openings k so as to allow the bolt K1 to pass through its openings. As is clearly shown in the drawings, the arm B1 of the knuckle B2 extends rearwardly from the knuckle, and is adapted to -move between the projections m into and out of the cavity of the coupler-head throughan opening m1 in the'front end thereof. The rear portion of the arm B1 is provided with a" vertical flange b1, and the lower rearv portion of said arm is provided with a horizontally disposed flange c, upon which latter a portion of the cou ling pin isadapted to rest, as will be present y explained. he upper and lower surfaces of the arm B1 are rovided with lugs B to strike against the wa ls of recesses 'b2 in the projections m, so as to preventA the knuckle turning too far towards the wall J 2 of the coupler-head nearest which it is pivoted. l

As will be seen and understood 'reference to Figs. 5, 6, 10, and 1311`of .the d awings, the coupler-head L is provided on its up er surface with a housing C, for the proteet1o1`1 and operation of the bell-crank or operating 1 lever, which co-acts with the coupling pin and arm B1 of the knuckle to throwv the latter outwardlyinto coupling osition. l The housing C is preferably ma e integral with the head L, and is divided therefrom by means' of a horizontal partition F, which has an opening therein for the operation of the arm 'E of`\ the operating lever. This lever is fulcrumed on a in N secured in the walls of the housing C, w ich housingis provided on its'upper surface with a hollow raised portion C1 for the operation'of the upper end of the operat- 'ing lever when the couplin pin is raised to its upward limit. Locate transversely in the walls of the raised portion C1 is a pin P, which restricts the upward movement of the operating lever. .As is clearly shown in Fig. 9 ofthe drawings, the operating lever is of 4the bell-crank type-that'is--it consists of an upper portion or longer arm D and a shorter arm E, having at its lower ortion another arm'E1 which extends lateral y from "the arm E and forwardly within the couplerhead to, impinge 1 against the vertical flange b1 on the arm of the knuckle. When 1n place between-the walls of the housing C, the arms D and E of the voperating lever will move in the same plane when actuated by the coupling pin, but the arm E1 ol' said lever will project forwardly to movetllc knuckle arm, as above stated. The coupler-lmad is provided on its upper surface about midway between its sides with a hollow extension, 4which is open at its upper end and communicates at one of its sides with the cavity of the housing C, and consist-s of the front and rear walls Gand side wall J (see Figs. 7, 1() and 13). The lower portion of the coupler-head is provided directly bellow the hollow extension above described with an opening d, which registers with an opening d1 in the partition F, as well as with the opening in the hollow extension above referred to. Extending downwardly from the lower surface of the cou ler-head and around the o ening d therein 1s a hollow extension, whic consists of the end walls G1 and side walls J1 (see Figs. 7, 10, 12 and 13). -The front part of the opening d in the bottom of the couplerhead is rovided with a horizontally disposed she f or ledge d2 on which a shoulder a, on the couplingpin will rest when the same is in its lowered position, so as to lock the knuckle, as is clearly shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

By referring to Fig. 15 of the drawings, it will be seen that the coupling pin A is rectangular in cross-section, and hasa longitudinal or vertical slot a1 in which the upper en'd of the arm D of the operating lever extends and is'adapted to operate. The upper end of the pin for portion A is provided wlth a head A1 which is formed with a vertical opening (LZ in which is held, by means of a transverse pin o,

a link a3, used for connectin the coupling pin to the o erating rod on the ody of t The ecar. ead A1, which is ada ted to rest,

i when the coupling pinis in its owered position, on 'the top. of the hollow extension formed by the walls 'or ortions G and J has on its side adjacent to tie hollow raised portion C1 of the housing C a vertical plate or portion H,which is designed to close said raised portion. .The lower end of the coupling pin A is reduced to form a tenon a1,on which is pivotally secured a block A2, which has a mortise or grooveo5 in. which the tenen at4 fit-s. As shown by dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 7, the tenon a1 has at its front lower portion a downward projection a which engages a shoulder a7 in the bottom of themortise a5 of the block A1", so as to restrict the movement of the block when it engages the flange c on the arm B1 of the knuckle, as will be understood by reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings. The couplingpin A is formed or provided on its front ortlon with a longitudinally extending rig A3, which extends from the head A1 to near the lower end of the pin A, but terminates above the block A2, thus forming a shoulder a., which will resten the ledge or shelf d2 when the `cou ling is in its lowered position, as shownin ig; 7;

Secured transversely and horizontally on the end ofthe car R by means of brackets r, at a suitable distance above the coupler, is an operating rod S,

crank s vto turn the same, and at its other end an arm s1 to which the link or links a1 on the most position when its Gr and J and on the le ged?, respectively, 1n-

of long chains which coupling pin is-attached. That-portion of the rod S on which the arm s1 is formed is located in a slot M formed in alink M1 which is pivoted at its other end to one of the brackets r. By this arrangement, it is apparent that the cou ling pin may be readily raised to the desire( position, and that the link M1 will permit of' sufii cient movement of the rod S to corres ond with the movement of th'e coupler-head),

might interfere with the operation ofthe coupling pin.

The operation of the device-is simple'and as follows- In the locked or coupled condition, the parts will assume Athe positions shown in Figs. 5, 7 and IO-that'is to saythe coupling pinA will be located in its lowerhead A1 and itsshoulder twill rest on the u per ends of the walls which positions the coupling pin will firmly hold-the arm B1 of the knuckle against outward movement, for it isi apparent that the free end of the arm-B1 will rest against the surface oflthecoupling pin adjacent to the y pivot of said arm. When i't isdesired to uncouple orV topermit the cars to be detached,

j the coupling pin may be partially raised by` means of the operating rod S, or otherwise, when by reason of its upward movement and the movement `of the o 'erating lever, the

arm B1 and knuckle B2 wi l be turned slightly outward when the block A2, which is eccentrically pivoted onthe coupling pin, will enf the arm B1, as shown in Fig. 3, thus supporting the coupllng pin in its partially raised position, when, asy soon as draft is ap ledge d2 and the coupling pin to be correspondingly lowered, as is shown in Fig. 14.

. rearward When in ,this last-named position, the coupin, thus permitting the latter to assume its i owermost or locked position.

Having thus fully what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is-

1. :In an automatic cou ler, the combina-J tion with a hollow couplercad having open,. ings in`its top.and bottom for the reception and operation of the coupling-pin and provided. at the front part of the dower opening which has at one of its ends a Vtudinally slotted coupling-pin movabl and thus avoid the use4 I' .2. .In an automatic coupler,

lied to the knuckle, 1t will turn outwardly, t ius permitt1ng the block A2 to engage or rest on the described the invention,

vwith a ledge, of aknuckle pivotally supported on the head and having an arm adapted to extend into the cavity of the same, a longin y located in the openings of the coupler-head and having at its upper end a head and near its lower end a shoulder adapted to rest on said ledge the said pin having at its lower end a reduced portion provided with a downwardly extending projection, a block having a shouldered mortise to receive and engage the reduced portion of the coupling-pin and projection thereon, res ectively, and pivotally secured to said re uced portion, crank-o eratinglever .fulcrumed on the cou ler ead and having one of its arms exten ed into the slot of the coupling-pin and another of its arms projected forwardly to co-act with the arm of the knuckle, substantially as described.

the combination with a hollow coupler-head having on its upper portiona housing and provided in its top and bottom withopenings for the reception and o eration of a coupling-pin and provided lat tlie front part of the lower opening with a ledge, of a' knuckle pivotally su ported on the head, and having an arm ad)a ted 'to'extend into and traverse the cavity o the same, a horizontally disposed flange on the lower ortion of said arm, -a longitudinally slotte cou ling-pin movably llocated in the openings o lthe coupler-head and having at its u er end'a head and near its lower end a shoulder adapted to restl on said ledge, the said pin having at its lower end a reduced portion provided with a downwardly extending projection, mortise to receive and engage the reduced portion yof the cou ling-gin and projection thereonfrespective y, an pivotal y secured to said reduced portion, a bell-crank-operating-lever' fulcrumed inthe said housing on the coupler-head and having one of its arms extended into the slot of the coupling-pin and another of its arms projected forwardly to co-act with the arm of the knuckle, substantially as described.

3. In an automatic coupler, the combination with fa hollow coupler-head having on its upperportio'n` a housing and provided vin its top and bottom with openings for the reception and operation of a coupling-pin and provided at the front part of t e lower opening with a ledge, of spaced apart forwardly extending projections on the front portion of the coupler-head, a knuckle pivabella block having a shoulderedl oted between said'projections and having an l arm ada ted to extend into and traverse the cavity o the cou ler-head, the said arm having on its free en a vertical flange and at the -lower portion of` its free end a horizontal flange, means on the aforesaid -projections and arm to restrict the rearward movement of the knuckle, a longitudinally slotted coupling-pin inovably located in the openings in the coupler-head and having :it its upper end a ,head and near its lower end ashoulder adapted to rest on' saidledge, the'said pin,

'having at its lower end a reduced portion provided with a downwardly extending projection, a block having a shouldered inortise to receive and engage the reduced portion of the coupling-pin and projection thereon, respectively, and pivotally and eecentrically secured to said reduced portion, a bell-crunkoperating-lever fulerunied between the walls of the housing and having one of its arms extended into the slot ofthe coupling-pin :1nd another ol its arms projected forwardly to eo-act in a lateral movement with the vertical flange-on the arm of the knuckle, suhsta-ntielly as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to the specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALFRED Gunner-1ER, JR.'

Witnesses:

CnAs. El JUERGEN, LUKE H. PARSONS. 

